Why is a lefty called a ‘southpaw’? | For The Win By: Greg Presto and Monica Akhtar | July 24, 2015 8:41 am In the new movie Southpaw, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a left-handed boxer named Billy Hope (well, he’s supposed to be left-handed, but promo materials may show otherwise ). This got us wondering: Why are left-handed people called “southpaw,” anyway? Check out the video above to see what we learned. Why Are Left Handed People Called Southpaws | Deep Something Why Are Left Handed People Called Southpaws This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Deep Questions Over the weekend, I heard the term “Southpaw” used. Now I know it means a person who is left-handed, but never understood where it came from. So, I decided to find out. Of course one usually hears it in the context of baseball, and that is where the term originated. In the early days of baseball, the baseball diamonds were laid out with the corner at home plate pointing west. This design was to avoid having the batter facing the afternoon sun.

(As the batter is facing the pitcher, he’s facing east.) This means that pitchers were typically facing west (obviously), which means that the pitcher’s left arm/hand would be on the south-side of his body. It’s also commonly used in reference to left-handed boxers, but also to any boxer who uses a stance with the right foot in front of the left. This is often referred to as a “southpaw stance.” According to Wikipedia, only about 7 to 10 percent of the population is left-handed, and many of those exhibit some degree of ambidexterity. 1 My guess is this is due to the fact that so many implements are geared towards right handed use, that southpaws have to adapt to some degree. Series Navigation Movie coming out soon called "Southpaw" : southpaws (2 children) the main character, a boxer, doesn't even box left-handed. I just watched the trailer again... From all the boxing scenes, he definitely appears to fight right-hand forward which is a true Southpaw stance. While boxing, you want your dominant hand on your back shoulder for power and/or uppercut shots and your non-dominant hand forward for jabs and hooks.

It might feel a little unnatural at first because you think you want your dominant hand foward, but it's the "proper" way to fight when boxing. Some fighters will often opt to switch stance anyway and fight with their dominant hand forward; Manny Pacquiao is a prime example. He's a right hander that prefers fighting southpaw . What is Southpaw in Boxing? What is Southpaw in Boxing? Save The opposite of a right-handed person is a left-handed person who is also called the southpaw. The term however is mostly used in the context of sports such as baseball and boxing. Southpaw is a term used in boxing to denote a left-handed person. While the boxer who is right-handed is termed orthodox, the mirror-image of the stance adopted by a southpaw. Content Who are the famous southpaw boxers? It is normal for the majority of the people to be right-handed. So to be a left-handed was considered unfavorable and in fact in some cultures use of left hand is strongly condemned and children with a tendency to use their left hand are forced to use their right hand. It is believed that about 20% of the population belongs to the category of southpaws.

What is the history of the southpaw? The use of the term southpaw dates back to the 1880s used as baseball slang. The origin of the term southpaw is found in American baseball , probably used in Chicago where the ball field was positioned facing east and west, with home plate facing west. Due to this a left-handed player pitched from the south side and hence came to be known as southpaws. It is believed that the term southpaw was used by Finley Peter Dunne in 1887, who was in charge of the sports coverage for Chicago News. In boxing a southpaw has certain advantages over the orthodox players. A southpaw’s abnormal positioning makes it difficult for the right-handed person to deal with the punches that are delivered from the direction opposite to what the players are generally trained in boxing. The moves of a southpaw seem awfully wrong to the orthodox fighter. He feels that the jab, the hook and the rear cross are all coming from the wrong side. As such a southpaw is considered dangerous, unorthodox and best avoided. The orthodox fighter may think that the southpaw does things ‘wrong’ but he can still be the winning streak.

Who are the famous southpaw boxers? Mike Schreck was a heavyweight boxer who fought during 1899-1916 and is one of the first boxers to be recorded as a southpaw. But he was largely unsuccessful in his boxing bouts against the top fighters of his time. George “KO” Chaney and Knockout Brown were the early southpaws who were fairly successful in their left-handed stances. Chaney, a featherweight and a lightweight boxer, during 1910-1926 scored ninety-two knockouts from his hundred and thirty-seven winning bouts. Brown fought from 1908-1916 as a lightweight champion and scored nearly sixty knockouts from his ninety-three winning games. They scored a large number of knockouts being southpaws and thus got the word ‘knockout’ attached to their names. But it was only with the coming of Lew Tendler, a great southpaw boxer during 1913 to 1928, that the southpaw boxer got his share of respect and honor in the game.

What made him unique was that in spite of his southpaw, he delivered straight punches in the most perfect manner. Though he never won a title, he was considered a formidable fighter. Al McCoy, a middleweight boxer from 1914-1917, became the first southpaw champion winning against George Chip on the 1914 boxing bout in Brooklyn, New York. The all time famous southpaw fighters during 1980-1991 were Marvin Hagler and Pernell Whittaker. External References Dog Paw Preference - Is Your Dog a “Righty” or a “Lefty”? Dog Paw Preference - Is Your Dog a “Righty” or a “Lefty”? Dog Paw Preference - Is Your Dog a “Righty” or a “Lefty”? Dogs Last Modified: August 10, 2015 Share This Article Read by: 84,482 pet lovers Is Your Dog Right Pawed or Left Pawed? Do dogs have a paw preference like people have a hand preference? It is believed that only about 13 percent of the world's human population is left-handed.

(They are often called "southpaws".) Genetics are believed to be primarily responsible for this trait because left-handedness can definitely "run in the family". In fact, a gene that researchers believe is responsible for left-handedness has now been isolated. Here's another interesting fact – left-handed people are much more likely to be creative. Most left-handers are visual thinkers who excel in creative fields like art and music. They are also more likely to excel in ball sports and at tasks that involve three-dimensional thinking and hand-eye coordination. Interesting. Can Dogs Have a Paw Preference? But does "handedness" apply to pets, too? Can dogs be "left-pawed" or "right-pawed"? The answer is "YES"! Animals have a preferred side, meaning your dog may be "right-pawed" or "left-pawed". If he is a male, studies show that he is most likely "left-pawed". If your dog is a female, she is most likely to be "right-pawed". Studies have tried to determine common characteristics of dogs and cats based on "pawedness".

A study at the University of New England determined that ambidextrous pets (with no bias for either the left or right paw) were at higher risk for behavior problems, separation anxiety and noise phobia (they are frightened by things like thunder and fireworks). Discovery News reported a study on paw use that was done on 42 domestic cats (21 male and 21 female). It found that in simpler tasks, a definite paw preference might not emerge – but in more complex tasks, a strong paw preference exists in cats based on sex. Most female dogs and cats prefer to use the right front paw while male dogs and cats prefer to use their left front paw. But in tests of pets that had been neutered , "pawedness" could not be determined by gender (the neutered animals showed no preference to one paw over the other). Animal behaviorists at the University of Sydney (Australia) found that male dogs are more likely to be left-pawed than female dogs, but they found no predisposition to left-pawedness among different breeds. The breeds they studied were boxers , pugs , whippets and greyhounds .

Their study also concluded that dogs with no distinct paw preference could never be trained to the same level as those with a specific paw preference. Also, left-pawed dogs are much favored as police dogs and guide dogs – but left-pawed dogs have a greater risk for some diseases. Here are some tests you can do to see if your dog is left-pawed or right-pawed. You must do each test many times watching for a "repeat" pattern. Clinical trials perform each test about 100 times, but a sample of 10 to 20 tests should provide a fair indication. When you teach your dog to " shake ", notice which paw your dog offers most often. Give your dog a puzzle treat toy, like a Kong or the Squirrel Dude, filled with a soft treat. Place it directly in the center of your dog's line of vision (not off to the left or right side) and see which paw your dog first touches the toy with and which paw he uses most often to hold the treat toy. Put a small piece of tape on your dog's snout and see which paw he uses to remove it.

Place a treat or a toy under the sofa just out of your dog's reach and see which paw he uses to try to grab for it. Demostration of Paw Preference Testing in Dogs Do you think dogs have a dominant paw? Take our poll. Go to: Can Dogs Be "Left-Pawed" or "Right-Pawed"? (?) What is a Southpaw? Why Are They Called Southpaws? - Dear Sports Fan Dear Sports Fan An advice column for people who live with people who live for sports What is a Southpaw? Why Are They Called Southpaws? Dear Sports Fan, What is a southpaw and why are they called southpaws? Where does that term come from? Thanks, — — — Dear Sally, A southpaw is someone who is left-handed. I’m guessing that you’re asking me instead of an etymologist because you heard the word used in the context of a sporting event. That’s apropos because the term comes from sports, baseball in particular, and was first used to refer to the handedness of a pitcher in particular. Here’s some background about baseball to lead into an explanation of the southpaw phrase.

Of all the major sports, baseball is probably the one that makes the biggest show of respecting its own tradition. One of its longest held tradition is playing games at night but not fully embracing it. According to Wikipedia , there have been night baseball games since the 1880s but major league teams “initially dismissed as an unwelcome gimmick by the big-league clubs.” The last hold-out in the major leagues, the venerable Chicago Cubs, succumbed to the night game trend in 1988, a hundred years or so later. There are still more day games in baseball than any other sport. Hitting a major league pitch is an incredibly difficult feat and it requires, more than any other quality, great eyesight. As we know from the excellent book, The Sports Gene, the average vision of professional baseball players is 20/13 (they can see at 20 feet what most people can see at 13.) Doing anything to damage this vision, like painting the seams of the baseball white so that they cannot be distinguished from the rest of the ball, makes it virtually impossible for even the best baseball players to hit a pitch.

One naturally occurring factor that could effect the eyesight of the batter is, of course, the sun! If a batter were forced to look towards the sun in a low (rising or setting) position, it would seriously effect the game. Baseball at sunrise is unlikely but baseball games, particularly because of the tradition of playing during the day, could easily be played at or around sunset. You never hear about a batter with the sun in his eyes — fielders, yes, but not batters. This is because baseball stadiums are almost universally designed so that a batter standing at home plate facing the field will be pointed somewhere between due East and due North. This gets them away from the setting sun and, in the Northern Hemisphere, away from the Southerly winter sun as well. Popchartlab has a wonderful poster for sale that shows this. In a baseball diamond where the batter faces East, the pitcher, standing opposite him, faces West. Imagine facing West and using your body as a map’s key or compass. Your eyes point West, your butt points East, your right arm points North, and your left arm… points South! This is how left-handed pitchers first became known as southpaws. Their paws literally face South in a traditional baseball stadium.

From baseball, the word has moved into other sports and into common use. I hear it most frequently in sports where handedness is a major tactical factor. Sports like hockey and tennis where which hand you favor marks which way you are more comfortable swinging your racket or stick are nice fits for using the term. I’ve also heard it used in basketball and boxing, two sports with motions (shooting in basketball, punching in boxing) that are asymmetrical and handed. In a recent episode of the NPR show, Radiolab , the hosts interviewed an English professor turned mixed martial artist, Jonathan Gottschall , whose first experience fighting was against a lefty and who talked about a theory for why lefties have been evolutionarily retained. The theory suggested that despite many negative aspects of left-handedness (lefties are more prone to any number of diseases and other early deaths,) they have a significant advantage in hand-to-hand combat because their relative rareness means that righties who are used to fighting righties can’t make sense of what’s coming at them until it’s too late. I hope this answer has been both helpful and interesting. If not, can we blame it on the fact that I’m a life-long northpaw?

Ezra Fischer Southpaws: List of Left Handed Boxers Famous Left Handed Boxers By Left Handed 28k views 15 items tags f t p @ A list of left handed boxers with pictures. People with left handedness, aka "left handers", "lefties", "a lefty", (or with fighters "southpaws") have long had to deal with negative connotations within the western world. The latin word for left, "sinistra" is where we get the modern word "sinister". By contrast, "dexterity" comes from the latin word for right handed, "dexter". Today, roughly 11% of the world's population is left handed. That number surged throughout the 20th century as adults stopped forcing left handed children to use their right hand. Left handedness has become unusually prominent within some professions. Of the seven most recent Presidents of the United States, five were left handers. Many other world leaders are lefties as well. Generally speaking, left handed people today tend to be seen as more "right brained".

A recent study showed that college educated left handers in the United States earn on average 10-15% more than their right handed equivalents. List Photo: Freebase /Public domain Collection Photo: user uploaded image Z G Options B Comments & Embed 1 Right handed Southpaw? | Boxing News 24 Forum Boxing News 24 Forum This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More. Right handed Southpaw? 1,000 Aug 5, 2009 I have just started boxing for a local gym. I am just trying to find my feet and could really do with some help. I asked a trainer about Southpaw and Orthdox and he asked what my most powerful and accurate hand was. Its clearly my right so he put me in the Orthodox stance. The problem is that in this stance i find it hard to tuck my chin in behind my shoulder, have a very stiff upper body and my left jab (I consider a jab to be the most important punch in boxing) is very weak and slow. I could not even double jab with this hand!!

So i went home with my tail between my legs (mainly because before attending the gym i just assumed i had the skills of Floyd mayweather!!:nut) and since then have been trying to find out whats best for me. I have come to the conclusion that when i fight Southpaw my right jab is quick, precise, snappy and reasonably poweful, and that although my left is still poor and needs work my chin sits naturally tucked away, and i feel a lot more comfortable. My question to you guys is..... Is this stance acceptable in boxing or will i get laughed out of the gym next time i go back? Also can anyone name any famous boxers who had a better right hand who fought Southpaw? All help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys! Dec 7, 2008 Mrtibbs said: ↑ I have just started boxing for a local gym. I am just trying to find my feet and could really do with some help. I asked a trainer about Southpaw and Orthdox and he asked what my most powerful and accurate hand was. Its clearly my right so he put me in the Orthodox stance.

The problem is that in this stance i find it hard to tuck my chin in behind my shoulder, have a very stiff upper body and my left jab (I consider a jab to be the most important punch in boxing) is very weak and slow. I could not even double jab with this hand!! So i went home with my tail between my legs (mainly because before attending the gym i just assumed i had the skills of Floyd mayweather!!:nut) and since then have been trying to find out whats best for me. I have come to the conclusion that when i fight Southpaw my right jab is quick, precise, snappy and reasonably poweful, and that although my left is still poor and needs work my chin sits naturally tucked away, and i feel a lot more comfortable. My question to you guys is..... Is this stance acceptable in boxing or will i get laughed out of the gym next time i go back? Also can anyone name any famous boxers who had a better right hand who fought Southpaw? All help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys! Click to expand... I know that De la Hoya is a natural lefty but still stands in a orthodox stance.

But he mastered it and of course you will have a lot of weaknesses that a good fighter could expose. My tip would be for you to stand in a normal stance for you (orthodox) and get the basics first. Or else your left hand would be sort of useless. Boxing takes a lot of work, so patience is everything 1,000 Jul 16, 2009 i would honestly recommend you stick to the orthodox style(i know switching is the trend now a day), im of the theory that if your right handed and you fight as a southpaw you loose something, sure you will have a stronger jab, and a stronger left hook but, developing that left hand will be much harder. also you got to understand that your jab dosent have to be a ko punch, it just has to be fast, stiff and pesky you say that you have problems with your jab and your chin as an orthodox fighter but thats to be expected after all you say you just started going to the gym.

if you truly feel like fighting orthodox will in the long term hinder your fighting then by all means switch to south paw, but also remember that boxing is something that takes a lifetime to perfect and of course when you start out youll feel slow and slugish. Sep 29, 2007 Mrtibbs said: ↑ I have just started boxing for a local gym. I am just trying to find my feet and could really do with some help. I asked a trainer about Southpaw and Orthdox and he asked what my most powerful and accurate hand was. Its clearly my right so he put me in the Orthodox stance. The problem is that in this stance i find it hard to tuck my chin in behind my shoulder, have a very stiff upper body and my left jab (I consider a jab to be the most important punch in boxing) is very weak and slow. I could not even double jab with this hand!! So i went home with my tail between my legs (mainly because before attending the gym i just assumed i had the skills of Floyd mayweather!!:nut) and since then have been trying to find out whats best for me.

I have come to the conclusion that when i fight Southpaw my right jab is quick, precise, snappy and reasonably poweful, and that although my left is still poor and needs work my chin sits naturally tucked away, and i feel a lot more comfortable. My question to you guys is..... Is this stance acceptable in boxing or will i get laughed out of the gym next time i go back? Also can anyone name any famous boxers who had a better right hand who fought Southpaw? All help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys! Click to expand... Before the trainer put you in that stance, which was natural to you? Thats the right one. new school says put ur lead hand forward old school says put ur power hand back. Cotto, DLH, Dawson, Winky, Travis Simms, Juanma (i think) and a lot more. lennox lewis (who i rarely agree with ) says you should put your power hand back and develop your weak hand BUT he says you should fight in the stance you are most comfortable and perfect it.

i personally fight as a southpaw most of the time (unless i think my opponent can be taken out easily in which case i go ortho and walk him down) and slap and box the crap out of my opponent. Southpaw Guide To Beating Orthodox Fighters Southpaw Guide To Beating Orthodox Fighters January 9, 2011 January 9, 2011 by Johnny N Boxing Strategy , Boxing Styles 104 Comments Are you a southpaw boxer? Learn the natural advantages of being a left-handed fighter and more importantly, how to beat orthodox opponents. How To Fight As A Southpaw The most important step to learning how to fight southpaw is to learn all the natural advantages that left-handed fighters have over their right-handed opponents. Being NATURALLY left-handed is a very big advantage in the world of boxing and fighting in general. First learn the advantages, then learn how to use them to your advantage! The Southpaw Advantage As with many sports, left-handed athletes (known in boxing as southpaws) carry a huge advantage because everything they do comes from the opposite side that a normal right-handed orthodox fighter is use to seeing.

Left-handed fighters, pitchers, fencers, tennis players, hockey, and more have been feared by their opponents for generations! In boxing, being left-handed was such an advantage that many fighters back in the days had to convert to an orthodox stance so that other fighters would be willing to face them. Imagine spending your whole life driving on the right side of the road in America, and then having to go over to England and remind yourself to drive on the left. Even though you’re constantly reminding yourself, your body will revert back to its habits and you’re bound to slip up sooner or later. Simply put, southpaws have infinitely more experience against orthodox fighters than vice versa. Quite often, their advantage in being a southpaw allows them to win fights even though they may be slower, weaker, and even less skilled. If you look throughout history you will see that some of the greatest orthodox fighters had their toughest fights against southpaws. Roy Jones Jr got knocked out for the first time in his career by a southpaw Antonio Tarver. Floyd Mayweather’s invincible defense was penetrated several times by southpaws Demarcus Corley and Zab Judah.

Other notable southpaws such as Manny Pacquiao and Paul Williams, have terrorized entire weight divisions with their southpaw styles. Examples of left-handed advantage in sports . The Southpaw Theory Because orthodox fighters are simply not used to throwing punches and defending punches against southpaw fighters, everything orthodox boxers do will be less effective against their southpaw opponents. When facing southpaws, orthodox fighters will throw punches with less accuracy and less power because they’re not used to throwing at the different angles. The orthodox fighter’s defenses will also be less effective and less elusive. The orthodox fighter will always be at a disadvantage against a southpaw because he doesn’t train his offense and defense regularly to mimick southpaw opponents. In contrast, the southpaw is far more comfortable against orthodox opponents. His offense and defense has always been tailored for orthodox opponents. Everything the orthodox fighter does, the southpaw has probably seen before. Southpaw VS Orthodox Matchup In this section, I’ll analyze and illustrate crucial advantages that left-handed fighters have over conventional right-handed fighters. The Placement No matter what happens during the fight, the southpaw will always be more comfortable with his hand and foot placement.

The southpaw’s defense always seems to be in the right place whereas the orthodox fighter always feels like he’s wide open no matter where he puts his hands. The orthodox fighter also feels uncomfortable because he can’t seem to place his feet where he wants to put them. Throughout the fight, he might even trip over the southpaw’s lead right leg because he’s not use having to moving around a southpaw. The Closed Angles When two orthodox fighters face each other, the angles of attack are relatively narrow and closed. Because of this, two orthodox fighters can defend themselves much easier with a static guard. In other words, they are able to defend themselves by using a single guard to defend against all punches. The reason for this is because the opponent’s jab and left hook will generally land in the same place and can be blocked by the orthodox opponent’s right hand. The opponent’s right hand and overhand right also generally land in the same place and can be blocked by the left glove or the left shoulder (ala Floyd Mayweather’s style). So when two equally skilled orthodox boxers face each other, it’s relatively easy for them to cover up and make the fight more defensive.

As shown in the illustration above, their stances naturally close off many angles making it relatively easy to defend. The Open Angles When an orthodox fighter faces a southpaw, everything changes drastically. First off, you’ll notice that the angles are far more wide open. The southpaw-vs-orthodox matchup allows for much wide angles of attack compared to an orthodox-vs-orthodox matchup. The orthodox fighter will not be able to block all four angles with a static guard. Because of the fighters’ mirror stances, the head and body are exposed from multiple directions. Notice how the orthodox fighter will not be able to block all of the southpaw’s angles unless he constantly adjusts his guard. Because of this open angle, a southpaw can easily penetrate (or confuse) the orthodox defense simply by mixing in right hooks with right jabs and overhand lefts with straight lefts. Now here’s where a lot of boxers will ask me, “But can’t I just use the southpaw’s tactics against him? Won’t the same tactics work in reverse?” This takes me to my next point. The Race The orthodox fighter will most definitely lose if he tries to use the southpaw’s tactics against him. Why?

Because the southpaw is more trained and more practiced at using those angles! The orthodox boxer will always lose if he tries to race a southpaw boxer! The southpaw jab easily beats the orthodox jab; the southpaw straight left easily intercepts the orthodox straight right. Again, the southpaw will always be more natural at throwing from those angles and using those tactics. Assuming all fighter attributes even (size, speed, skill), the southpaw boxer will out-throw, out-punch, and out-land the orthodox fighter. Defensively, the orthodox boxer will be more surprised and hurt by the southpaw’s punches because he’s not used to getting hit from southpaw angles. Everything the southpaw does is perfectly trained for use against orthodox boxers but not vice versa! The Uneven Exchange This is naturally where most southpaw VS orthodox fights evolve into–uneven exchanges. What happens is the orthodox fighter realizes he can’t outjab the southpaw and that his right hand can’t beat the southpaw’s big left. It’s very natural at this point for the orthodox fighter to want to trade right for right and left for left.

In other words, the orthodox boxer will throw his right hand when the southpaw throws his right and the orthodox will throw his left when the southpaw throws his left. Here’s the critical analysis. Usually when orthodox fighters exchange punches, they trade left jabs against left jabs and right crosses against right crosses. In that orthodox-vs-orthodox situation, the exchanges are pretty fair and even. Against a southpaw however, the orthodox gets the short end of the stick. Here’s why: when the orthodox throws a jab, the southpaw will land a huge left. When the orthodox throws a right hand, the southpaw easily defends (by moving his head or moving away) and lands a big right hook. The orthodox fighter is used to watching for the straight right hand and so he’ll forget about the southpaw’s big straight left and or not notice the southpaw’s deadly right hook. But what about the orthodox fighter’s own left hook and big right hands? For one thing, you’ll quickly realize that the orthodox fighter’s left hooks have a hard time landing. The mirror stance makes it hard for the orthodox fighter to get his feet close enough to land his left hook.

By the time the orthodox fighter is close enough to land his left hook, he would have already been beaten by the southpaw’s right jab. The orthodox fighter will also realize that the southpaw’s movement easily avoids the straight right. The T-Position Just when you thought things couldn’t be any worse for the orthodox boxer, it actually can be MUCH worse. The southpaw only needs to step forward with both feet, keeping his front foot on the outside and he now commands even more devastating angles while putting himself at less risk defensively. Standing on the T is the most advantageous position during a southpaw-orthodox matchup. Because the southpaw is more accustomed to fighting right-handers, it’s more common for the southpaw to claim the T-position and put the orthodox fighter on the defensive. From the T-position, the southpaw can punch any way and anywhere he wants. If you study the illustration above, you will see what I call a 2-to-1 scenario where the outside boxer is in a advantageous position because he can attack with both hands whereas the orthodox boxer can only throw his right arm because his front arm is useless and out of range.

Offensively, you can almost call this a 4-to-1 advantage because the southpaw can throw a right jab and right hook which land at different angles as well as a left cross and left hook which also land at different angles. The orthodox fighter technically only has 1 attack with his right; because you see, regardless of whether he throws a straight right or an overhand right, it will still come almost at the same angle. Defensively, the southpaw is quite safe since he’s hiding behind the orthodox fighter’s left arm. The orthodox’s left jab and left hook cannot land effectively (if even at all), and the right hand is blocked by his left arm. Even if the orthodox throws his right hand, the southpaw can easily avoid it by pulling his head to his left or taking a small step to his left. The southpaw is also able to move anywhere he like and escape forwards or backwards out of harms way whereas the orthodox fighter can only back up or and pivot into the southpaw exposing him more to the southpaw’s left hand. In most cases, the orthodox fighter has no choice but to close up and take more punches as he tries to reposition his feet into a more neutral stance.

[Do keep in mind that I exaggerated the “T” foot placement my illustration. In actual fighting conditions, as long as the southpaw moves into a position where his front foot is outside the orthodox fighter’s front foot, the southpaw will hold the T-position advantage. You don’t have to stand perfectly square like in my crappy drawing.] The Reverse T-Position This position is very awkward and doesn’t seem possible but it happens more often than you think. Here your orthodox opponent is at the top of the “T” with his back to you, giving you the advantage to hit him from behind. There are two ways you can get into this position. One is your opponent throws a lunging left and over swings to the point that he’s gone past your front foot and turned himself around. The other way is for you to plant your front foot behind his and just pivot around him. He can’t pivot with you because his front foot is trapped by yours. You can punch him freely from behind. By the time he pulls his front foot out, he’ll be pivoting in to your left cross! Southpaw Left Cross & Southpaw Right Hook It’s all about the angles. Imagine yourself as an orthodox boxing facing another orthodox boxer.

You’re use to parrying away his light jabs and watching for his straight right hands. Now imagine you’re facing a southpaw. Now you’ve got huge left crosses coming from where you were use to be expecting weaker left jabs; this changes your defense drastically. On the other side where you use to expect straight right hands from the rear, now you’re facing faster right jabs and also a southpaw right hook that comes from an angle you didn’t previously have to defend against. If you think about it, every southpaw punch exploits a speed advantage or angle advantage that you previously didn’t have to watch out for. The orthodox boxer is not habitually trained to see your left hands and right hands. I am dead serious, throw those punches as often as you want, anytime you want and you will land easy. Orthodox fighters are ESPECIALLY BLIND to southpaw right hooks. As a southpaw, you should know that every punch you throw carries a surprise advantage. (I’ll have another guide later on how to maximize the left cross and right hook to your advantage.) Wow! Is there ANY hope for the orthodox boxer?

Yes…but he better learn how to fight southpaws and have some tricks specially made for southpaw opponents. But I’ll save that for another boxing article 😉 Final Southpaw Tips If you’re a southpaw boxer reading this guide, life should be MUUUUCH easier now against orthodox boxers. Just remember that southpaws hold the advantage. You guys set the pace, orthodox opponents will be under pressure even when you’re just chasing them around the ring and not throwing any punches. 3 Crucial Southpaw Rules: Keep Your Front Foot On The Outside In a southpaw VS orthodox fight, whichever boxer keeps his front foot on the outside holds the positional advantage. Offensively, the boxer with the outside foot will have the 2-to-1 T-position advantage that I explained above. Defensively, he will be able to move in all directions whereas the other boxer can only to one side. If you put your lead foot on the outside, the other fighter will have to run in the other direction which is towards your strong hand! Just about every boxing coach will stress that maintaining the outside front foot is key in controlling the main advantage during southpaw-orthodox matchups.

Watch For The Orthodox Right Hand The most dangerous punch the orthodox boxer has against you is his right hand. That is the easiest and strongest punch for him to land against you and it’s only a matter of time before he uses more and more. The more frustrated he gets, the more he’ll want to throw a big right. Watch out for that right hand and everything will be ok! Mix Up Hooks and Straights Don’t forget that the wide angle makes it hard for the orthodox fighter to block all hooks and straight punches without constantly having to shift his guard. Punch up, down, and around with both hands at all angles! Note to Orthodox Right-Handed Fighters Yes, I do recommend right-handed boxers to study this guide so that you can understand the mindset of a southpaw when you fight one. It’s also fun to turn southpaw in fights and surprise your normal right-handed opponents. Sometimes when I’m losing a fight or caught bored in a orthodox-vs-orthodox jabbing contest, I love to switch into southpaw and have some fun. Enjoy guys, I had fun writing this one. (Not so much fun drawing though. I’m really sorry about the crappy drawings!

My photoshop skills are so bad they took me hours! Hahaha.) Ready for more southpaw boxing guides? Left-handedness | Left Handed Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Main article: Handedness Hand orientation is developed in fetuses, most commonly determined by observing which hand is predominantly held close to the mouth. [2] In 2007, researchers discovered LRRTM1 , the first gene linked to increased odds of being left-handed. Possession of this gene slightly increases the possibility of left-handedness, although genetic predispotion to handedness has not yet been established. [3] [4] Vanishing Twin Theory: This theory postulates that left handed individuals were originally part of an identical twin pair, with the right-handed twin fetus failing to develop early in development. Mirror twins consist of one left handed and one right handed individual. Each twin is in effect a "mirror image" of the other. Such occurances would coincide with the approximate population of left-handed births (10-15%). Long-term impairment of the right hand: People with long-term impairment of the right hand are more likely to become left-handed, even after their right hand heals.

Template:Citation needed Such long-term impairment is defined as eight months or more. Testosterone : Exposure to higher rates of testosterone before birth can lead to a left-handed child. [5] This is the Geschwind theory, named after the neurologist who proposed it, Norman Geschwind . It suggests that variations in levels of testosterone during pregnancy shape the development of the fetal brain. Testosterone suppresses the growth of the left cerebral hemisphere and so more neurons migrate to the right hemisphere Template:Citation needed . The highly developed right hemisphere is now better suited to function as the center of language and handedness. The fetus is more likely to become left-handed, since the right hemisphere controls the left half of the body. The theory goes on to tie the exposure to higher levels of testosterone and the resultant right-hemisphere dominance to auto-immune disorders , learning disorders , dyslexia , and stuttering , as well as increased spatial ability . Social stigma and repression of left-handedness Edit Template:Off-topic There are many colloquial terms used to refer to a left-handed person, e.g. "southpaw" or "goofy".

Some are just slang or jargon words, while other references may be offensive or demeaning, either in context or in origin (e.g. the British "cack-handed"). In more technical contexts, 'sinistral' may be used in place of 'left-handed' and 'sinistrality' in place of 'left-handedness'. Both of these technical terms derive from sinestra, a Latin word meaning 'left'. [6] Left hand shakes are a sign of disrespect – however the left hand shake is the standard in the international Scouting movement. In Hebrew , as well as in other ancient Semitic and Mesopotamian languages, the term "left" was a symbol of power or custody. [7] The left hand symbolized the power to shame society, and was used as a metaphor for misfortune, natural evil , or punishment from the gods. This metaphor survived ancient culture and was integrated into mainstream Christianity by early Catholic theologians as Ambrose of Milan [8] to modern Protestant theologians such as Karl Barth [9] to attribute natural evil to God in explaining God's omnipotence over the universe . Meanings gradually developed from use of these terms in the ancient languages.

In many European languages, "right" is not only a synonym for correctness, but also stands for authority and justice: German recht, French droit, Spanish derecho, Portuguese direito; in most Slavic languages the root prav is used in words carrying meanings of correctness or justice. The right hand has also historically been associated with skill: the Latin word for right-handed is dexter, as in dexterity; indeed, the Spanish term diestro and the Italian 's destro, mean both "right-handed" and "skillful". In Irish, "deas" means "right side" and "nice". "Ciotóg" is the left hand and is related to "ciotach" meaning "awkward" [10] ; in French, "gauche" means "left" and is also a synonym of "maladroit", meaning "clumsy". Same for the Italian "maldestro" (literally "bad right" or "not right" with the term right here used as opposed to left and not to wrong) and the Dutch word "links".

Meanwhile, the English word sinister comes from the Latin word sinestra, which originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" by the Classical Latin era. Alternatively, sinister comes from the Latin word sinus meaning "pocket": a traditional Roman toga had only one pocket, located on the left side. The contemporary Italian word sinistra has both meanings of sinister and left (the masculine adjective for sinister being sinistro). The Spanish siniestra has both, too, although the 'left' meaning is less common and is usually expressed by izquierda, [11] a Basque word that made its way into Portuguese too. In Portuguese, the most common word for left-handed person, canhoto, was once used to identify the devil, and canhestro, a related word, means "clumsy" (sinistro means only "sinister"). Furthermore, in English, the expression "To have two left feet" refers to clumsiness in the domains of football or dancing. The left side is often associated with awkwardness and clumsiness.

The English expression "having two left feet", the Dutch expression "twee linkerhanden hebben", the Spanish expression "tener dos pies izquierdos", the German expression "zwei linke Hände haben", the Bulgarian expression "dve levi ratse", the French expression "avoir deux mains gauches" and the Czech expression "Mít obě ruce levé" ("to have two left hands") all mean being clumsy. Moreover, the German idiom "mit dem linken Fuß aufgestanden sein", the Spanish expression "levantarse con el pie izquierdo" and the french one "s'être levé du pied gauche" (literally, to have gotten up with the left foot) means to have a bad day and do everything wrong or unsuccessfully (like "to get out of the wrong side of the bed" in English). In ancient China, the left has been the "bad" side. The adjective "left" ( Chinese character : Template:Lang , Mandarin : zuǒ) means "improper" or "out of accord". For instance, the phrase "left path" ( Template:Lang , Mandarin: zuǒdao) stands for illegal or immoral means.

The pictograph for "left", Template:Lang depicts a left hand attending to work. In contrast, the pictograph for "right", Template:Lang (Mandarin: yòu) depicts a right hand in relation to the mouth, suggesting the act of eating. Contrast this pattern with the Muslim example below. At the same time, in modern Chinese conscience the left is firmly held as the dominant and "male" side, epitomized in the formula "man-left, woman-right". In Welsh , the word chwith means left, but can also mean strange, awkward, or wrong. The phrase tu chwith allan (left side out) refers to an object being inside-out. [12] In some Spanish-speaking countries, to do something por izquierda means to engage in corrupt conduct or employ illegitimate means; whereas por derecha or a derechas means to do it the right (legitimate) way. [13] In Dutch , "twee linkerhanden hebben" (having two left hands) means that one is clumsy or is a very poor handyman. The English equivalent of the phrase is "being all thumbs".

In Finnish , the word oikea means both right (okay, correct) and right (the opposite of left). In Hungarian , the word for right is jobb which also means better. The word for left is bal, and is used in expressions such as kétbalkezes ("having two left hands"), balszerencse (bad luck), bal lábbal kel fel ("get up (from bed) with the left leg", an omen that predicts a bad day coming up). In Swedish , vänster means left. The term vänsterprassel means infidelity, adultery; cheating. From this term the verb vänstra (lit. "lefting") is derived. In Ireland left handedness is called a "ciotógach" (kitt-OHG-och) which is the Irish language term for left-handed. It is frequently used amongst Irish people, e.g. "she gave him a slap of the ciotógach after he insulted her at the bar" the word ciotógach is not derogatory and is held with affection amongst left-handed people. The Scots term for left-handedness is corrie fistit. The term can be used to convey clumsiness.

Lloque Yupanqui , the third Sapa Inca , whose name means "the glorified lefthander" In some parts of the English-speaking world 'cack-handed' is slang for left-handed (it is also used to mean clumsy). The origin of this term is disputed, but some suggest it is derived from the Latin cacare, in reference to the habit of performing ablutions with the left hand, leaving the right hand 'clean'. [14] However, other source suggest that it is derived from the Old Norse word keikr, meaning "bent backwards" [15] Australians frequently use "cacky-handed". A less common Australian slang word for a left-handed individual is the term Molly-Dooker, whose origins cannot be ascertained for certain. [16] Amongst Muslims , and in some societies including Nepal and India , it is customary to use the left hand for cleaning oneself with water after defecating. The right hand is commonly known in contradistinction from the left, as the hand used for eating. [17] Even the word " ambidexterity " reflects the bias . Its intended meaning is, "skillful on both sides".

However, since it keeps the Latin root "dexter", which means "right", it ends up conveying the idea of being "right-handed at both sides". This bias is also apparent in the lesser-known antonym "ambisinistrous", which means "clumsy on both sides" and derives from the Latin root "sinister", which means "left". [18] Positive connotations Edit Among Incas left-handers were called (and now are called among the indigenous peoples of the Andes ) lloq'e ( Template:Lang-qu ) which has positive value. Peoples of the Andes consider that left-handers possess special spiritual abilities, including magic and healing . Third Sapa Inca - Lloque Yupanqui — was the left-hander, his name in transfer with Quechua means «the glorified lefthander». In tantras Buddhist, the left hand represents the wisdom. Southpaw File:Jonny Wilkinson 2007.jpg A left-handed individual may be known as a southpaw, particularly in a sports context. It is widely accepted that the term originated in the United States , in the game of baseball .

[19] Ballparks are often designed so that batters are facing east, so that the afternoon or evening sun does not shine in their eyes. [20] This means that left-handed pitchers are throwing with their south-side arm. [21] The Oxford English Dictionary lists a non-baseball citation for "south paw", meaning a punch with the left hand, as early as 1848, [22] just three years after the first organized baseball game, with the note "(orig. U.S., in Baseball)." [23] In boxing , someone who boxes left-handed is frequently referred to as southpaw. The term is also used to refer to a stance in which the boxer places the right foot in front of the left, so it is possible for a right-handed boxer to box with a southpaw stance. Most boxers, southpaw or otherwise, tend to train with sparring partners who adopt an orthodox stance which gives southpaws an advantage. Manny Pacquiao is an example of a southpaw (although he writes with his right hand). In the popular boxing film series Rocky , the main character Rocky Balboa is a 'southpaw'.

Southpaw is also a term in professional wrestling, often giving them the advantage. In tennis , southpaws hold the racket in their left hand. Because of this, their grip of the handle is supposedly adjusted in a slightly different style from right-handed players. Some world champion left-handed tennis players include Jimmy Connors , John McEnroe , Martina Navratilova , Marcelo Ríos , and Rafael Nadal . Accessibility of implements and skills File:Trackman marble wheel.JPG Left-handed people are sometimes placed at a disadvantage by the prevalence of right-handed tools in society. Many tools and devices are designed to be comfortably used with the right hand. For example, (right-handed) scissors , a very common tool, are arranged so that the line being cut along can be seen by a right-handed user, but is obscured to a left-handed user. Furthermore, the handles are often molded in a way that is difficult for a left-hander to hold, and extensive use in such cases can lead to varying levels of discomfort.

Most importantly, the scissoring or shearing action - how the blades work together (how they are attached at the pivot) - operates correctly for a right-hander, but a left-hander will tend to force the blades apart rather than shearing the target substance. [24] So-called ambidextrous scissors do not help, since the cutting blades are still set right-handed. Input devices for computers can present obstacles for the left-handed when optimized for the right. Some computer installations have the computer mouse placed on the right side of the keyboard and unable to be reposition to the left. The mouse itself is also sometimes shaped to fit the right hand better. Other input devices such as trackballs and trackpads can be positioned in such a way that they are difficult for left-handed. These may also have two buttons that, while functionally reversible, are sized for the convenience of the right-handed person.

File:2scissors-clean.jpg While European-style kitchen knives are symmetrical, Japanese kitchen knives have the cutting edge ground asymmetrically , with ratios ranging from 70-30 for the average chef's knife, to 90-10 for professional sushi chef knives; left-handed models are rare, and usually must be specially ordered or custom made. [25] Left-handed scissors require inverting both the handles and the blades if the left-handed user is to fully see the progress of the cut. Right-handed scissors place the thumb's blade on the left side, while left-handed scissors have this on the right side. This ensures the left hand's motion draws the blades together while cutting, ensuring a cleaner cut. File:Montre senestre.JPG Left-handed adaptations have even bridged the world of music; guitars are often made especially for left-handers, though generally at a higher cost, and with greatly reduced availability ( Jimi Hendrix was known to use a right-handed guitar flipped around to play left-handed). There have even been inverted pianos where the deepest notes correspond to the rightmost keys instead of the leftmost. [26] Inverted trumpets are made, too, but at a considerably higher cost.

Although the trumpet's valves are normally designed to be operated with the right hand, the prevailing belief is that left-handed trumpeters aren't at a significant disadvantage. The French horn , for example, is played with the left hand, yet most horn players are right-handed. Left-handed golf clubs were one of the earlier, and well-accepted, manifestations of a special version of an implement; the most notable left-handed-playing participant being Phil Mickelson (he is naturally right-handed). Other items which are inconvenient for left-handers include train-station turnstiles , can openers , circular saws, potato peelers , corkscrews , rulers , number keys on keyboards , watches , chequebooks , spiral notebooks , boomerangs , measuring cups and pencil sharpeners . Handwriting File:Barack Obama signs at his desk2.jpg It can be difficult for left-handed children to learn to write if the teacher does not take the student's left-handedness into account. In fact, even in the later 20th century, some UK schools were discouraging children from writing with their left hand, often seriously affecting the child's development ( Hansard 1998 ).

When properly done, left-handed writing is a mirror image to that of the right-hander, making the teaching process confusing for the right-handed teacher of a left-handed student. Some chairs are equipped with writing boards on the right side only, contributing to this behavior. The result is that left-handed students learn to write with their hand curled around the pen so that it can meet the paper at the same angle as the right-hander and also to account for the front page of notebooks and binders, as the books open so you write on the right side, which puts the binding on the left side, inhibiting the left hand from writing freely. [27] Once this habit is formed, it is difficult to break. [28] This curling of the hand results in the heel of the palm being placed behind the writing, forcing the writer to lift it off the paper and making the grip even more awkward. In addition, constantly lifting and replacing the hand over fresh ink often causes smudging, causing problems for many left-handed students, especially in exam situations. When the left hand is held correctly, it is below the writing, as is typical for right-handers.

Left-handed people who speak Arabic , Persian , Urdu , Hebrew or any other right-to-left language do not have the same difficulties with writing. The right-to-left nature of these languages prevents left-handers from running their hand on the ink as happens with left to right languages. However, because these alphabets were developed for right-handed people, the characters are still often more easily matched to a right-handed profile. Left-handers also have an advantage in learning 19th-Century copperplate hands, which control line-width by pressure on the point, because the proper angle for the pen point is slanted "northeast," which puts the right hand in an awkward, "crabbed" position. Some pen makers make bent nibs to allow right-handers to point the pen in the direction that allows the best control. Firearms Edit The vast majority of firearms are designed for right-handed shooters, with the operating handle, magazine release, and/or safety mechanisms set up for manipulation by the right hand, and fired cartridge cases ejected to the right. Also, scopes and sights may be mounted in such a way as to require the shooter to place the rifle against the right shoulder.

A left-handed shooter must either purchase a left-handed or ambidextrous firearm (which are manufactured in smaller numbers and are generally more expensive and/or harder to obtain), shoot a right-handed gun left-handed (which presents certain difficulties, such as the controls being improperly located for them or hot shell cases being ejected towards their body, especially their eyes or down their collar or right sleeve), or learn to shoot right-handed (which may be less comfortable or "natural" for them). A related issue is ocular dominance , due to which left-handed people may wish to shoot right-handed, and vice versa. Some modern firearms are ambidextrous (e.g. the FN P90 and Heckler & Koch P7 ), or can be converted between right- and left-handed operation (e.g. the Heckler & Koch G36 and Steyr AUG ). Bullpup rifles are particularly problematic for left-handers unless they can be reconfigured, since empty shells would be ejected straight into the shooter's face and cheek potentially causing injury.

The British LA-85 Assault Rifle must be fired right-handed, placing left-handed soldiers at a disadvantage; this policy does however mean that any soldier can pick up and immediately fire a fallen comrade's gun without checking its configuration and potentially needing to convert it. In contrast the Steyr AUG is of a modular design, and the ejection port and extractor can be switched/replaced to suit the handedness of the soldier operating it. The M-16 and its variants have a fixed ejection port, but being a conventional (i.e. not bullpup) design the ejection port is forward of the operator and hence able to be fired either handed. Circa 1980, with the introduction of the M16A2 version, a case deflector was incorporated adjacent to the ejector port to direct discarded shells in a more forward direction, making the rifle even more left hand operator friendly. The deflector is not always effective, however, as the ejected shell still stands a chance of hitting the left-handed shooter's cheek, especially in windy conditions. Lever action and pump action firearms present fewer difficulties for left-handers than bolt action weapons do.

Many weapons with adjustable sights allow for left-handed use, but a right eye dominant shooter is necessary to adjust. In fact, most weapons adjust well enough that a weapon will not eject shells into a left-hander's eye. Cameras Edit One of the few cameras ever produced for left-handers was the half-frame Yashica Samurai. Cameras predominantly have the hand grip, shutter release, film wind lever and commonly used selection buttons, switches and dials controlled by the right hand, lens controls (where present) tend to be accessible by either hand. When a left-handed person uses a right-handed camera the hand control can be less steady and hence produce camera shake leading to poorer pictures at low shutter speeds. Guitars Edit Most guitars are designed to be played right-handed (that is to say the right hand is used to strum or pick the strings while the left hand manipulates the fret board). Although a right-handed guitar may be converted for left-handed playing (as was most notably done by Jimi Hendrix , Paul McCartney , Tony Iommi and Kurt Cobain ), this always requires replacing the bridge and nut for the strings to fit and the intonation to be correct.

This "quick alternative" to getting a "real" left-handed guitar has only been necessary due to a considerable lack of true left-handed instruments, manufactured specifically for the left-handed player. Many guitar brands make left-handed versions of their popular products. Correlations with left-handedness Edit In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, [29] Chris McManus of University College London argues that the proportion of left-handers is rising and left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers' brains are structured differently in a way that widens their range of abilities, and the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language centres of the brain. McManus also says that the increase in the 20th century of people identifying as left-handed could produce a corresponding intellectual advance and a leap in the number of mathematical, sporting, or artistic geniuses. In 2006, researchers at Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University in a study found that left-handed men are 15 percent richer than right-handed men for those who attended college, and 26 percent richer if they graduated.

The wage difference remains unexplained, and does not appear to apply to women. [30] Left-handedness and politics

Question: A left-handed boxer is called a ‘what’…paw?
Answer: Southpaw